Chapter 1- The Wall
BEYOND THE WALL
CHAPTER ONE THE WALL
James Elias had never seen the outside world.
Nobody had.
At least, that’s what they told him.
Every morning, the city of Aurelia woke beneath the same artificial sunrise. Buildings illuminated one floor at a time. Roads came alive with silent autonomous vehicles. Delivery drones rose from their charging stations and disappeared between the towers.
And above everything stood the Wall.
It surrounded Aurelia like a second horizon.
James could see it from his bedroom window.
It was enormous—so enormous that looking directly at the top made his eyes hurt. Its surface was made from layers of reinforced material, energy systems, sensors, and technology so advanced that most people didn’t even understand how it worked.
The Authority called it humanity’s greatest achievement.
James called it a giant question mark.
His wrist display lit up.
06:45
A calm voice filled his room.
“Good morning, James Elias.”
James pulled the blanket over his head.
“Five more minutes.”
“You have requested five more minutes for the past four mornings.”
“Then you should know the routine.”
The lights brightened.
“School begins at 08:00.”
James groaned and sat up.
His bedroom window automatically adjusted its tint.
The city appeared below him.
A holographic advertisement floated between two towers.
THE AUTHORITY PROTECTS.
Underneath it:
THE WALL PROTECTS US ALL.
James stared at it.
Then he looked toward the Wall.
Something about it had always bothered him.
Not the size.
Not the security.
The fact that nobody talked about what was beyond it.
Everyone simply accepted the answer.
Dangerous.
Uninhabitable.
Dead.
James had never been good at accepting answers he couldn’t verify.
“James!”
His sister’s voice came from the hallway.
He grabbed his jacket.
“I’m up!”
“You said that ten minutes ago.”
“I was getting up slowly.”
Mara appeared in the doorway.
At twenty years old, she was only a few years older than James, but she acted like she had been raising him her entire life.
Technically, she had.
Their parents had disappeared when James was six.
The official report said they died during a laboratory accident.
James barely remembered them.
Mara remembered everything.
Or at least, she claimed she did.
“You’re staring again,” she said.
James looked away from the window.
“I wasn’t.”
“You were.”
Mara walked into the room and straightened his jacket.
“You know the rules.”
“Don’t go near the Wall.”
“And?”
“Don’t enter restricted areas.”
“And?”
“Don’t ask questions.”
Mara stopped.
James smiled.
“I was joking.”
She didn’t smile back.
“James.”
He sighed.
“Fine.”
Mara stepped away.
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
Then James noticed something on her wrist.
A small silver symbol.
He’d seen it before.
“What does that mean?”
Mara immediately covered it with her sleeve.
“Nothing.”
“You’re terrible at lying.”
“And you’re terrible at knowing when to stop asking questions.”
She walked toward the kitchen.
James followed.
“Where are you working today?”
“Innovation District.”
“Doing what?”
“Repairs.”
“What kind?”
“James.”
“Okay, okay.”
He grabbed breakfast from the food dispenser.
Mara watched him.
“Be careful today.”
James frowned.
“Why?”
“Just be careful.”
Before he could ask anything else, she left.
James looked toward the door.
Something was wrong.
He just didn’t know what.
The streets of Aurelia were already crowded.
James walked toward school with his wrist display projected above his hand.
His schedule hovered in the air.
ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
MATHEMATICS
CIVIC SYSTEMS
A notification appeared.
GENESIS SCAN REQUIRED — 16TH BIRTHDAY
James groaned.
He had forgotten.
Every citizen underwent regular genetic scans.
The Authority called them preventative health screenings.
James had never thought much about them.
Until now.
“Morning, genius.”
James looked up.
Sage was walking toward him.
A small drone followed behind her.
James pointed at it.
“Is that yours?”
Sage grinned.
“Technically.”
“Technically?”
“I borrowed it.”
“From where?”
“That’s classified.”
“You’re sixteen.”
“Exactly. I’m classified.”
Nova walked up behind her.
“You’re both idiots.”
Corey appeared beside Nova.
“Good morning, idiots.”
Adam followed last.
“I don’t know why I keep hanging out with you people.”
James smiled.
“Because you love us.”
“I tolerate you.”
“Same thing.”
The group continued toward school.
Then Corey looked toward the Wall.
“Did you guys see the news this morning?”
Nova shook her head.
“No.”
“There was another storm outside.”
James stopped.
“What kind?”
“Black dust storm. Western sector.”
Adam frowned.
“How bad?”
“They said the Wall absorbed most of it.”
James looked at the massive barrier.
“Most?”
Corey shrugged.
“That’s what they said.”
James stared at the Wall.
For some reason, the words bothered him.
Environmental History began at eight.
The classroom windows darkened.
A hologram appeared above the center of the room.
Earth.
Then the image changed.
Cities disappeared.
Oceans rose.
Storms covered continents.
The world became gray.
Their teacher, Dr. Renn, walked beneath the hologram.
“Before Aurelia, humanity experienced what historians now call the Environmental Collapse.”
The simulation showed abandoned cities.
Destroyed roads.
Empty landscapes.
Then the Wall appeared.
“Humanity survived because the first engineers created a protected environment capable of shielding civilization from the outside.”
James raised his hand.
Dr. Renn noticed.
“Yes, James?”
“How long did it take to build the Wall?”
“A little over twelve years.”
“Twelve years?”
“Yes.”
“With what technology?”
Dr. Renn paused.
“Technology that no longer exists.”
James frowned.
“Why?”
The teacher looked at him.
“Because we no longer need it.”
James lowered his hand.
The lesson continued.
But he couldn’t stop thinking.
Technology that no longer exists.
That didn’t make sense.
Aurelia had more advanced technology than humanity had ever possessed.
So why would something disappear?
After school, the four friends split up.
Nova and Corey went toward the residential district.
Adam headed toward the transit station.
Sage stayed beside James.
“You’re thinking about the Wall.”
James looked at her.
“How do you know?”
“You get this face.”
“What face?”
“The face you make when you’re about to do something stupid.”
James laughed.
“I just want to see it up close.”
Sage stopped walking.
“James.”
“I’m not going through it.”
“Good.”
“I just want to look.”
Sage sighed.
“That’s how every terrible decision begins.”
They reached the edge of the Outer District.
The Wall was much closer here.
It rose hundreds of meters above them.
Sensors covered its surface.
Small drones moved along its edges.
James looked up.
For the first time, he noticed something he’d never seen before.
A tiny section of the Wall wasn’t illuminated.
“That’s weird.”
Sage followed his gaze.
“What?”
“That panel.”
She squinted.
“Probably maintenance.”
“Maybe.”
James stepped closer.
His wrist display suddenly vibrated.
UNKNOWN SIGNAL DETECTED.
James froze.
“What is it?” Sage asked.
He stared at his screen.
The message disappeared.
Then another appeared.
EXTERNAL SYSTEM CONNECTION ESTABLISHED.
James’s heart began pounding.
“Sage…”
The Wall hummed.
Every light along the nearby section shut off.
The world went silent.
For thirteen seconds, James could see through the darkness.
Not clearly.
Not enough to understand.
But he saw something.
A flash of green.
Leaves.
Real leaves.
Then the lights returned.
The Wall became solid again.
Sage stared at him.
“James…”
He didn’t answer.
His wrist display lit up one final time.
There was no logo.
No Authority identification.
No sender.
Just a single sentence.
YOU ARE NOT THE FIRST ELIAS TO FIND THE WALL.
James stared at the message.
His blood went cold.
Because he knew exactly who it meant.
Elias Voss.
